The present invention relates to a glass plate with an oxide film, for vehicular window glasses (e.g., automotive front windshield and rear and side windows), architectural glass plates (e.g., building window glass) and industrial glass plates (e.g., showcase glass). The present invention further relates to a process for producing such glass plate.
There are vehicular, architectural and industrial glass plates with various functional films (having functions of heat shielding, ultraviolet shielding, electromagnetic shielding and the like) for the purpose of having comfort, improved design, privacy, environmental safety and the like.
Recently, there have been proposals of architectural and automotive window glasses having hydrophilicity, anti-fogging property and stain resistance by the photocatalytic effect of titanium oxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,372, corresponding to Japanese Patent JP-B2-2756474, discloses that the surface of a substrate is coated with an abrasion-resistant photocatalytic coating comprised of a semiconductor photocatalyst.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication JP-A-9-227159 discloses vehicular front and rear window glasses with transparent layers containing a photocatalytic semiconductor material.
JP-A-10-60665 discloses a metal oxide film formed on a substrate. This metal oxide film contains titania and silica and is prepared by applying a coating solution containing (a) a metal oxide sol (containing titania) and (b) a colloidal silica in the form of chain and then by heating the coated substrate.
EP-A1-0882686, corresponding to JP-A-10-231146, discloses an anti-fogging and stain-prevented glass article having an alkali shielding film and a photocatalytic film.